Tiger Saves Kitten and Other Awws

As a girl, I don’t think I’m alone in thinking that there’s something extra-special-adorable about tough manly-men with cute baby animals. Some kind of double-tugging at the heartstrings, or perhaps rather the ovaries.

“With the rain pouring down on Comerica Park Tuesday afternoon, a kitten took shelter among the wiring above the entrance way to the Tigers batting cage.
Tigers outfielder Matt Joyce, hearing the tiny black cat whimper, climbed up on a stool and, with batting gloves on to protect his hands, pulled the animal down, before carrying it up the stairs into the clubhouse.”

Aww. Awww! Aww. Equally cute and also funny is Verlander’s reaction:

“I can’t even get near that thing. I’ll get all messed up,” Verlander said, scooting by the scene. “I’m so allergic to cats.”

“While golfing on Thursday at a local course in Jupiter, Uggla’s cart almost struck a baby raccoon. Seeing the animal was alone and struggling, the Marlins second baseman wrapped it in a towel and brought it back to the apartment. The players started calling it Ricky.”

A) They missed a golden opportunity to name it Rocky Raccoon, and now that’s stuck in my head. B) Rescuing a crying, rained-on kitten is commendable, no doubt. But really – what’re you supposed to do? Fry it up and serve the team kitty fritters? Of course you’re going to rescue the kitten. But helping a baby raccoon, lost on a golf course, is somewhat more heroic, I think. And I’m totally not just saying that because I have a crush on Dan Uggla. Nope.

“Uggla is rooming with Logan Kensing and Jeremy Hermida. Kensing read up on raccoons on the Internet, and the pitcher is feeding the animal, which is only a couple of inches long.
‘It can fit in your palm,’ Uggla said. “It doesn’t do anything. We put it in a basket, and all it does is sleep.”

Awwwwwwwww. They called the animal control center, who took Ricky and found him a home. Awww.

N’awwwwww. That sound you hear is just me melting into a puddle, don’t worry about it.

So how about you ladies (and gentlemen)? What are your favorite adorable athlete stories?